The Beautiful Trauma
by cafeanna
Summary: "You will marry the Kazekage in two weeks' time." As soon as the elder speaks, Hiashi notices his daughter's eyes widen in surprise. They are her weapons as well as her weakness, but there is no conflict there, no panic, no anger, just clear and utter astonishment. [Hinata/Gaara] Hiashi-centric, slight world alterations.


—an au in which the Kazekage, Gaara no Subaku and Hinata Hyuuga will marry. Hiashi is having doubts about parting with his eldest child so soon.

 **title:** beautiful trauma

 **genre:** family, hurt/comfort

 **pairing:** Gaara/Hinata

 **inspo:** I fell back into the _Naruto_ rabbit hole. And I like writing from perspectives of a character from outside of what the story should be about. Hiashi, for example, is interesting enough to keep on because of how much he's grown throughout the series, but all the while Hinata is the main focus, as is her marriage to Gaara.

 **& **"Beautiful Trauma" by P!nk that kept me writing and writing and writing

So, Part 1 (Tech 3) of the Beautiful Trauma trilogy.

* * *

"You will marry the Kazekage in two weeks' time." As soon as the elder speaks, Hiashi notices his daughter's eyes widen in surprise. They are her weapons as well as her weakness, but there is no conflict there, no panic, no anger, just clear and utter astonishment.

Hinata is sitting before the Hyuuga elders, her hands folded in her lap as she addresses them—her great aunts and uncles, even her own Grandmother, the great Dowager of their clan. Often people say that Hinata is the spinning image of his mother in her youth, although the color of her hair a gift from his mother's consort and husband who came from the Land of Frost. Hiashi and his siblings never gained such a color, but Hinata, his firstborn was born crowned with hair blue as the hour of her birth.

Hinata has always looked more like her grandmother's child than he has, but her timid nature and soft voice is all her own mother, the late Lady Michiko Hyuuga née Sen. And the faint violet tint to her pupil-less eyes, a note of what their true color may have been had she not activated her Byukugan as a child.

She addresses her Grandmother now, her voice light and even. "When will I be leaving?"

"Two days." His mother decrees and although Hiashi had been the one to settle the arrangements, he feels a heaviness in his chest that he cannot quite place. Regret, perhaps? He had hoped not to part with Hinata until she was at least twenty-four, but when his mother came to him months prior and said that Hinata confided in her that she would agree to an arranged marriage; Hiashi had been, as noble, pleased, but as a father quite flummoxed.

When he managed to question Hinata about Dowager Hyuuga's statement, he expressed that he was worried that his mother was growing senile. Hinata has always been a quiet child, timid and slow to act, the traits she has grown out of as she grew as a kunoichi, but Hiashi still catches flashes of the old-Hinata every now and again, especially around the elders, and knows his choice to position Hanabi as the Hyuuga heiress had been a sound one.

Their people needed a strong leader, and despite Hinata's many talents, she could not fulfill that role.

Still, Hiashi believes he knows his daughter well-enough to know that she would never condone an arranged marriage. He had promised his wife he would never force either of their daughters to marry.

In these days, arrangements are not uncommon among the nobility to ensure powerful offspring, but the custom has since eased in recent years after the Lady Tsunade Senju, the Fifth Hokage, eloped and married Dan Kato, a first generation shinobi and although the couple bore no children, it would be foolishness to speak ill of the princess's choice.

"I understand that my choice might be," Hinata tilts her head to avoid his gaze, "sudden. But, I did visit Grandmother and asked her if she would arrange a marriage for me. She promised me that I can either agree or disagree with her choice for me."

Hiashi knew that his mother fancied herself a matchmaker, but she sought titles over companionship. When he mentions this to her, she merely shrugs him off and declares that his marriage, although short lived, was a success. Which is true, he had been lucky with Michiko, the Sen clan were renown and respected ninja with one existing progeny to boast to their great name. Still, his wife was eaten up by the disease that claimed her family, but not without giving him two daughters and a handful of memories to look back on fondly.

Weeks later, his mother tells him that she has heard rumor that the Kazekage of Sunagakure was seeking a wife. A _foreign_ wife.

After that it only became a matter of when he was sending his daughter off forever.

.

.

Hiashi is stuck on a memory from when Hinata was twelve-years-old.

Although she passed the Academy exams into genin level, he knew he must do as he promised in order to secure Hanabi's unchallenged succession as the Hyuuga heiress. With the same flat tones of the elders, Hinata was told that she was to be disinherited by the main branch family.

Hiashi remembers the expression on his daughter's face being neither anger or sorrow, but a deep mile-long stare of understanding; knowing that there was nothing she could do to change the minds of the elders, accepting her fate. Her gaze lowered to the floor and Hiashi watched her shoulders lower as his own grandfather—dead now—recited that her rights to the family name would be similar to that of a branch house family member. She would relinquish her family jewelry, costumes, and rights.

However, she would not have to suffer the curse seal that branch members did.

She leaves the compound only to return an hour later with her new teacher, a woman named Kurenai Yuhi at their gate. Hiashi consents to a private audience with her, sparing the woman the humiliation of raving in front of their clan's elders, but refuses to end Hanabi's lesson when she arrives.

 _She_ is the one interrupting.

"I do not come from the old clans so forgive me for not understanding, Hyuuga-sama." Kurenai begins cordially, but her voice is hot fury beneath her cool exterior, her red eyes bleeding into him. "But do nobility often disinherit their children once they reach a certain age?"

Hanabi stumbles back and regains her footing, taking up a wide stance as her eyes fix on him and only him. "Don't loose yourself to anger. You'll get sloppy." Hiashi instructs and narrows his eyes at Kurenai.

"Hinata is no longer the heiress of the Hyuuga clan. She has proven repeatedly that she would not be a worthy to uphold such a title. Therefore, I have positioned her sister to take over."

"'Positioned'." Kurenai laughs, her eyes turn unkind and full of mirth. "The village knows how that is done. You made your children fight each other. Hinata may not be a fierce fighter, but as the elder child, of course, she would not hurt her little sister. Hinata is gentle—"

" _Exactly_." Hiashi says, temple throbbing with a headache. Too much has happened today. Too much for him to handle right now. Hanabi runs at him again and although she is improving, Hiashi needs her to be stronger. Stronger. He parries and she jumps back, barely missing his hand. "The main house has no place for gentleness or weakness. When she marries she will be ruled by her husband, and we cannot have that."

Hyuuga heiresses are not ruled by their husbands, they are ruled by their clan and their duties.

Hanabi rushes at him.

"I will be taking up Hinata's formal teaching from now on, I suppose?" Kurenai asks after a lapse. "I have asked her to come stay with me." Hiashi feels a sharp burning in his chest at the thought. His daughter, his firstborn, his heir, leaving the compound. "But if you think that would be inappropriate—" Hiashi makes a noise and deflects his daughter's attack with a parry a bit harder than he would normally would use. Hanabi goes sprawling, dropping her kunai to avoid further injury and lands, flat on her back, long hair creating a curtain over her face, heaving.

"Take her! She more use to you and yours than she is us."

Hiashi turns towards the door and that's when he sees that Hinata has never retreated as he originally thought. She is still sitting with her legs tucked under her on the walkway outside the training room, her eyes wide as they turn towards her sister, her chakra completely masked. "H-Hanabi-chan."

For a moment his own anger at being overheard overrides his muse. Hinata has always been good at folding into herself, becoming invisible. As a ninja, its formidable, but as an heiress—a future leader—its cowardly.

"Hinata." Her shoulders hitch when he says her name and her gaze lowers, respectfully, meekly. She has already packed a bag, a single duffle slung across her shoulder and bulging at the seams.

This is a memory that Hiashi regrets the most, because at the time, in his head, he contented himself with the knowledge that he saved Hinata from the curse of the branch houses and having to be marked. That had been his bargain with his mother. Hinata would be disinherited as an heiress, as a main branch member, but remain unmarked.

It was kindness like ignoring his nephew's stewing hatred and turning his full attention to his final hope for a viable heir.

Hanabi runs at him that instant, blade in hand and Hiashi braces an arm to defend himself. This time she manages to cut his sleeve, drawing a ragged gash from his wrist up his forearm, and she jumps out of reach before Hiashi can parry. Her Byukugan is activated and she twists the blade in her hand, gripping the handle rather than the ring. His little daughter looks fierce, teeth grit and eyes burning with fire, that though in time—hopefully soon—he can turn into Hyuuga ice.

Even Kurenai seems a little impressed.

Hiashi is less-so.

"I told you not to lose yourself to anger." He snaps, but Hanabi does not relent. Her eyes are burning. Hiashi can see her lip trembling. Her breathing is heavy and irregular, too deep as if she were about to cry. "Go to your healer." He commands and Hanabi turns on her heel, rushing out of the room without a backwards glace. Hinata murmurs her name again, but doesn't dare follow her. She is not allowed in the main branch quarters without express permission.

"I will compensate for your trouble," Hiashi says and his headache pierces through his temples, all the way across his forehead. The elders will not like this. Like everything else, they want their weakness as well as their strengths wrapped up in the compound, but Hiashi does not quite trust them.

"It's not what I'm—" Kurenai begins, but Hinata rises to her feet, catching them both by surprise.

"T-thank you, Father," Hinata bows to him, head low and hands folded together over her stomach. "For . . . for everything you taught me. I promise to behave and tread carefully, to not bring shame to the Hyuuga clan."

When she looks at him, her eyes are full of tears.

.

.

Two weeks later the unease in Hiashi Hyuuga's heart is not yet settled, but he meets with the rest of his daughter's wedding party at the village gate. He is surprised to see that the party makes up such a large faction of her age group. Most are jounin and race ahead in order to spend more time in Sunagakure before the festivities. Hiashi prefers the sedated pace, wondering what his eldest child thought of the venture she had made by palanquin through the forest of her home and into the desert of her husband's country.

 _I hope she wasn't too miserable in the heat._ He thinks and tugs at the collar of his traveling outfit. His nephew catches this and inquires, "Do you need to rest, Oji-sama?"

Hiashi shakes his head. "No, we'll be there soon anyway." He fixes his gaze on the two shinobi trekking a bit ahead of them, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame walking on either side of his daughter. "How is Hanabi?"

"Lady Hanabi is taking the news well. Inuzuka and Aburame wanted to stay behind to talk to her." Neji supplies and before Hiashi can further question, Neji adds, "She is sad that Lady Hinata will be moving to Suna. I think that Inuzuka and Aburame want to console her somehow."

That alone makes the tightness in Hiashi's chest twist. The three of them: Hinata, Neji, and Hanabi had become close in those in-between years.

Hinata's return to the Hyuuga compound three years ago had been partly due to Hanabi, who after the war had to deal early on with the deaths of multiple family members, friends, and teammates. Often, Hiashi caught her sneaking out the compound in the dead of the night to stay with Hinata who was, at the time, sharing an apartment with a very pregnant Kurenai Yuhi. Hanabi grew impossible to console and even more steadfast to her elder sister.

The war took so much from Konohagakure—and life has taken so many from Hiashi—that it seemed almost inhumane to cast aside any surviving family because of status or challenge.

"I never asked you, nephew, how do you feel about losing your cousin?" Hiashi knows onces he says it, his phrasing sounds . . . off, but Neji doesn't comment on that. So, he studies his nephew's expression as he mulls over the question with a small frown. His eyes flicker back to and Hinata's teammates. Inuzuka is adjusting the chakra flow on his overgrown ken-nin's feet, to protect his paws from the hot sand, explaining the process to Hanabi who looks fascinated.

"I never felt like I would be losing her." Neji pauses again, considering. "But I will miss Lady Hinata. I suppose, I might be more apt to take up missions in Suna if I'm asked, but she'll be married and busy—"

"We've got incoming!" Aburame shouts and Hiashi is not sure what is more startling. The fact that Aburame—after nearly a decade of acquaintance—raises his voice above a murmur or the sight of Inuzuka throwing his daughter, the Hyuuga heir, onto the back of his ken-nin before the three of them take off in a dead sprint.

Inuzuka turns to inform them, "Lord Hyuuga, Neji! It's a sand storm!"

.

.

They arrive just as a sand storm is setting in.

At once, their pace picked up to full sprint when the first whips of wind cut through the air, but they keep their eyes training on the flag rising high above the whipping wind. The meeting point. Their liaison, a foul-mouthed man with Kabuki-style makeup, came prepared with a mask for himself and none to go around. Hastily, he instructs them to stay close and leads the blind through the desert at a break-neck pace.

Hiashi actives his Byakugan to see that his daughter is still astride Inuzuka's overgrown dog ahead of him, and hanging on for dear life. Neji is sticking close beside her, knowing his duties are to protect the Hyuuga heirs at all costs.

Hiashi pulls the collar of his under shirt over his nose and keeps running.

Aburame feigns left a little too much and another ninja, a woman, joins their little band to keep him on track. Like their liaison, she seems to know this invisible path into the Sand Village. "Gaara! A little help here!" Their liaison shouts and at once there is silence.

Hiashi doesn't need his eyes to see the dome that is now encircling their party, nor to know that this is the famed power of future son-in-law. Sand manipulation. Hiashi can feel the charge of powerful chakra all around him. The seven of them slow to a walk, marveling at the dome that formed over their heads and the sand beating against the walls. "Whee! Well, right this was then."

He leads them in seemingly no particular direction until they are staring down the wall of Sunagakure, barely visible from within the shadow of the dome. Once they clear a passage marker, Hiashi can see everything, individual flares of chakra everywhere, protected and hidden by the infamous Wall of Suna.

When they step indoors, they find a couple of the jounin from their party are still there and look as wind-whipped as Hiashi feels. The sand dome evaporates around them, at once falling to the ground before gathering like slithering snakes to fill up a giant gourd at the feet of another masked man. A thin layer of muslin covering his mouth and his head. Only his eyes are showing, sea foam green and lined with thick kohl that Hiashi supposes is the fashion here. Something about keeping the sun from their eyes.

His chakra signature is like a pulse, like a housefire, like a sand storm. The most powerful shinobi in the village and surrounded by his element.

"I apologize," the masked man says in a voice much softer than Hiashi expects, "for my rudeness, but I am needed in the guard towers." Their liaison waves dismissively, although Hiashi is sure that the man—Gaara, he has no doubt—is addressing them. But before he can voice this, Gaara has dispersed into sand, taking his gourd with him.

"Anyway, as I was trying to say out there. I am Kankuro no Sabaku, and yes, I am the elder brother of the Kazekage." He says this with a sniff of dignity. As if people are always asking. He smiles, wide and welcoming. "Welcome to Sunagakure."

The woman who joined them outside to help Aburame, removes the goggles and scarf that protectes her face. It's Hinata, hair tied up in a messy knot, and she smiles kindly at them when she unmasks her chakra. "Hinata-chan!"

"Hello Father, Neji-nii-san, Lady Hanabi, welcome to Sunagakure." She bows low and Hiashi accepts her hellos before turning away, giving her comrades a chance to greet her.

Inuzuka and, by extension, his mongrel, Aburame, and Hanabi, crowd his eldest daughter into what Hiashi can loosely call a dog pile. "Kiba? Shino!? Hanabi—!" But she doesn't sound quite as put-out by the attention, even as Inuzuka crushes her ribs. Neji even slinks forward to give his cool hellos and nods of acknowledgement.

Hanabi is the first to pull back, casting a lone glance back at their father, before looking to Hinata and smiling. "I want to congratulate you on your engagement, Hinata-nee-san." His daughter bows and Hinata, for a moment, looks close to tears. "I am really," Hanabi's voice wobbles a little. "Very happy for you."

Hinata peels away from her friends and pulls Hanabi into a hug, a stray tear rolling down her cheek. "Thank you, Hanabi." Neji watches this exchange with a careful expression, but Hiashi is sure that he sees a whisper of a smile on Neji's mouth.

.

.

Reconciliation with his daughter had been odd, largely because Hiashi still believed he made the right choice in replacing Hinata as Hyuuga heiress, but he sees now that he had gone about it all . . . very wrong.

His daughter had been raised by strangers and so a stranger to him she was. Even now, living in his house, she is increasingly careful around him, always formal. Like some distant relative paying an extended visit.

It is not exactly _wrong,_ it is how he taunt her to act, but it's stiff and uncomfortable.

When she left the shelter of the Hyuuga compound, she never gave him or the elders reason to complain or raise questions. She never acted in a manner that disrespected the Hyuuga name. She was a model shinobi and served her village well.

Hiashi only finds himself catching dirty looks from other clan heads for years after Hinata's disinheritance. First the Yuhi clan, then the Inuzuka, and then the Aburame.

Then, the Uzumaki kid always has something to mumble when he passed him in the street.

And, of course, his nephew. The spinning image of twin brother, but Neji lived still within the walls of the compound, in a little wing with his mother.

Neji had been born to be Hinata's second, her bodyguard and training companion. He was too old to become that to Hanabi, who had a wealth of younger cousins that she could spar and practice with. Hinata's departure left a gaping hole in the family hierarchy as to what role Neji played.

During the Chuunin Exams, he heard that Neji had put Hinata in the hospital during their battle—a flawless victory. But when Hiashi happened to pass through the branch extension of houses, he caught a glimpse of Neji, sullen and bruised, both his arms wrapped in bandages from Hinata's own attacks.

"You fought Hinata in the preliminary fights?" He eyes the bandages and the purpling bruise forming on his nephew's left eye. "You put her in the hospital."

He is not sure why he says this. Hinata has been out of the house for a few months by this point, and Hiashi has hardened his heart when he heard that Neji and Hinata were both taking their journeyman exams. He has sent Yuhi funds to cover Hinata's hospital stay—and got them sent back.

Still, Neji glares at him, hateful and austere, like an angry shadow of Hizashi.

"I would not do Hinata-san the dishonor," He says this lowly as if pondering this for a great while. "Of fighting her with restraint."

The Hyuuga's branch house prodigy had won the fight in the physical sense, but Hinata had sunk back into him. Neji spent every day afterwards training, teeth grit and spewing venom at any unlucky enough to cross his path, but he went to see Hinata in the hospital—getting that black eye from Inuzuka, he's sure. Tsume Inuzuka has been looking too smug lately.

He apologizes for the wounds he created and the dishonor he has done by shunning his brother's child. But Neji has been bent too far to be mended so easily.

Much later, after Orochimaru's attack, Hiashi will hear whisper and rumor that Hinata and Neji have been training together on the public training grounds. He trains with Hanabi too sometimes, but rarely. He makes Chuunin the next exam cycle and dominates the field. As does Hinata.

When Hinata returns to the Hyuuga compound, a jounin, a kunoichi, an honorable shinobi, she and Neji take immediate advantage of the Hyuuga training grounds. Hiashi watches them, making comments here and there, but in the middle of their sparring, even as they're swiping at one another and calling taunts—Hiashi can see that Neji is smiling.

His nephew, who has been stewing and blooming in hatred, has finally found some reason to flourish outside of the house.

And Hiashi feels as though he had just shoved Hinata out of the compound again, disinheriting her and spitting on his promises to his dead wife, his nephew, and his heir all over again.

.

.

The sudden sandstorm threatens to push the wedding back a day in order to give the weather a chance to clear, but the fit of the weather seems to settle as the night wears on. It is the season for such things. Once the Kazekage gets his guard towers in order, securing the village orphanage, and hospital back-up generators— _basic checks!_ Kankuro calls them—he transports into his own house, and greets Hiashi, Hanabi, and Neji properly.

Hiashi watches how Hinata stands off to the side, hands folded in front of her as she studies the Kazekage. Hiashi wonders what she must think of him, this man who was once a bijuu, once an enemy, now her soon-to-be husband and life partner. Her lavender eyes meet his and she nods. "I have prepared an apartment suite for the three of you."

The Kazekage looks over his shoulder, expression unreadable. "Would that be alright?"

"Of course, it's the one that reminds me the most of home." And Hinata is right, the room she set up for them does look a little like the traditional style that Hiashi favors, complete with a seating area and three separate bedrooms. "And the maid can bring you tea whenever you need. We have a lot of people staying in the guest wing, so they are working in shifts."

"Thank you for your consideration, Lady Hinata." Neji bobs his head before disappearing into his room. Hanabi goes to claim her own room.

"There are baths too . . . oh, may I get you anything, Father?" Hinata's eyes are wide and hopeful.

"No, thank you. I think I might have a bath and a rest. I am feeling quite tired after such a long journey."

Hinata nods slowly and Hanabi reenters. "Hinata-nee-san, can you show me the in-door training rooms? I want to see what kind of equipment the Suna-nin work with." As if his interests were piqued, Neji leans out of his room.

Hinata looks to Hiashi in question, but Hiashi waves them off. "Do as you please. Hanabi do not bother your sister. She must be very busy." Hanabi hums in agreement and the three of them are gone again.

.

.

Hiashi spends much of his time in his room at the Kazekage mansion. The sand beating against his windows. The heat is more bearable once he bathes and changes his clothes, but the feeling in his chest has followed him from Konoha.

Neji and Hanabi return from training, only to shower before heading off to an impromptu dinner. Hiashi feigns fatigue and takes his dinner in his room. He might as well let the young ones have the fun, his presences will only make it awkward.

The three of them only have so much time left together, he doesn't want a moment to be wasted being overly formal for his sake.

Idly, Hiashi wonders where his parental worry was when he sent Hinata to be raised by strangers—or pushed young Hanabi into training, or shoved Neji aside because of his brother—and feels shamed.

He has done such wrong, by all three of them, that he just wants to make things right.

He brought Hinata back into the Hyuuga house only to have her bent to Hyuuga rules. After he promised to protect her. For all he knew, his mother could have coerced her; twisted her arm and made her agree to a marriage she doesn't even want.

Hanabi arrives back at the rooms late, expression schooled even though there is a flush of color to her cheeks. "What is going on out there?" He stayed in their rooms the last few days and the night before the wedding, he can hear music and dancing from the floor below.

"Wedding party." Hanabi answers simply and sits up with him for an hour to drink tea and chat before going to bed herself.

Neji arrives back much later. He has been drinking, that much is obvious from his slowed gait and his sluggish response. He asks the same question. "Lady Hinata and the Kazekage are playing newlywed games. The ones where the groom has to answer questions about the bride."

Hiashi's brows draw together. How much could the Kazekage possibly know about his daughter in barely two weeks?

"Kazekage-sama, forgot one answer and all the groomsmen had to take a shot." Neji slumps into the couch across from him in the sitting area. The low lamp light makes his face look eerie and cat-like. He tips his gaze to Hiashi and his words are slow and slur together. "Oji-sama, if you are troubled by something you should voice it."

The statement is so outlandish, so absurd, yet so honest that Hiashi almost thinks again that it is his twin sitting across from him, slumping into his chair, rubbing his temple with the bend of his knuckle.

"You should be going to bed. You have had too much to drink." Hiashi says and then the irritation of the day, this mission, this reason. "This is a diplomatic mission, you should know better."

Neji raises a brow at him but straightens, gathering up the strength to do as he is told. "This is less a diplomatic mission and more of a wedding weekend." He rises to his feet, all cool lines and easy grace. "Gaara-sama is a good man. He has been good and honest to Lady Hinata. He will take care of her." He yawns as he makes his way towards his bedroom in their apartment. Over his shoulder he calls. "Dowager Hama would not have made a better choice if they had not pointed it out themselves."

Hiashi is left puzzled in the dark, wondering what all this means.

.

.

The day of his daughter's wedding, the sand storm has ceased and the sky is clear and blue as only one can appreciate after a storm. It's still early, the heat of the day not yet set in, but the mansion is already bustling with life.

His daughter will be getting married in a few hours, before noon, as is the custom.

While he drinks his tea and dresses, Hiashi can hear the sluggish sounds of his nephew and daughter waking in their rooms on either side of him. Neji dresses quickly and leaves to join something called the 'groomsmen party' and Hanabi collects her formal kimono and informs him that she is joining the bridal party downstairs. Her eyes are heavy and dark circled as she shuffles out of the room.

Hiashi does not have to wander because a maid leads him down the first floor of the Kazekage mansion, servants are running around to ready for the celebration, but admits the chaos, he finds himself in the antechamber outside the reception hall.

And, as he expects, his silent vigil goes unnoticed or ignored for a time as he watches the last-minute details of Hinata's outfit come together.

She is wearing a kimono of the traditional style; however, the obi is an elaborate piece of embroidered phoenixes and gold stars, complimented by the red trim of her robes. It takes him a moment to realize that the women flocking around his daughter are not maids, but guests, dressed in the preferred all-white outfit as the other guests.

There is a happy ring of chatter from the room, as other women from the village that Hiashi vaguely recognizes gather round to compliment and congratulate the bride.

Hiashi feels oddly dissonant to the whole experience. Of course, there's Kurenai, she and her son had been the ones to accompany Hinata on her journey two weeks prior, acting as an escort and a familiar face to soften the blow. But the room makes up a wealth of Konohagakure's shining kunoichi.

Sitting next to Kurenai is the protégé of Lady Tsunade, beside the newest edition to the Interrogation ward, who's talking to the latest ANBU recruit, and the sister of the Kazekage. _Such powerful kunoichi gathering to celebrate my daughter._

And among them is Hinata, sitting back on a settee as her peers' flock around her. Hanabi seems to be the only sullen face in the room, her cheek pillowed on his sister's knee and Hinata absently strokes the girl's hair and gently—gently—holding a water glass to her forehead. Hinata has a habit of babying Hanabi that Hiashi has never understood.

"I let you have one glass of wine—" she says, teasingly and Hanabi whines in response.

"Nee-san, please don't say anything."

"Oh, Gaara is going to flip when he sees you, Hinata!" Yamanaka exclaims as she puts in the final hairpin to Hinata's elaborate updo. Most women in Konohagakure wear headdresses when they marry, or at least those from noble families do as a show of status and money, but Hinata's approach seems a softer call to a new style. Her hair is a tasteful chignon decorated with silver and pearls that share an odd harmony with her outfit.

"Ah, Lord Hyuuga," Kurenai sits up, her son clamoring on her lap. "We were wondering when you were going to show."

Like a switch had been flipped the careless joy of the room shifts as all seven women stand, turn and bow to him. Hanabi is the first to sit back down and the protégé takes the chance to wrangle his daughter's unbound hair. Hanabi puts up no resistance and merely yawns.

"Father," Hinata smiles pink-cheeked and eyes alight, the epitome of a happy bride on her wedding day. Hiashi feels his heart clench. "I am so happy to see you, Hanabi told me you've been so worn out from the journey."

Hiashi nods. "The heat does not agree with me."

"Hm, it didn't with me at first, but Temari has helped me to adjust. The clothes here are not as thick as they are in Konoha. I can have some sent to you." Hiashi nods along with his daughter's helpful babble and takes measure of his daughter.

She is not nearly as pale as she was when he last saw her, the desert sun adding an arguably healthy glow to her pallid complexion; the effects of which bring out a dusting of freckles along the bridge of her nose and cheeks.

She looks so delicate that Hiashi has a fierce and fatherly urge to protect her.

He is about to ask her right then if this is what she really wants—because if she honestly wants to call off the wedding, Hiashi will _not_ be cross with her—but he words dry up in his throat.

A sharp rap interrupts them and, at once, all of the girls dissolve back into their original chatter. Even Hanabi is cheered into a smile, her long hair tamed back into a bun. "Who goes there?" shouts one of the girls, the one with knives in her hair.

"The groom's party!" An annoyingly sharp voice responds. The pink-haired girl laughs and circles around them to open the door, allowing a flood of men to enter the room. Hiashi momentarily is thrown but soon his daughter is snatched up from his side by the man in kabuki . . . which is now _more_ elaborate than before.

"Hey little sis! Look at you, all pretty!"

"Kankuro!" His daughter squeals and—Hiashi is startled because did Hinata just squeal?–then her gaze snaps back to him. "Kankuro, you have met my Father, Lord Hyuuga."

"Oh, hey again." Kankuro removes his arm from Hinata to bow deeply. Hiashi is going to have a heart-attack because then Kankuro takes his hand. "We love Hinata. I mean it, we just adore her. She will be a wonderful addition to our family." His grin is big and cheesy and Hiashi momentarily wonders if he truly is marrying is daughter off to nobility or simple farming folk.

"Kankuro, that's enough." The woman from before, Temari, steps forward to yank her brother back. "Hello Lord Hyuuga. I am the eldest of this brood and I can tell you that Hinata has been a joy."

"You're both making it sound like I'm a preschool student." Hinata mumbles, but the comment does not go unheard. The two bursts into laughter and Temari gives Hinata a one-armed hug, carefully minding her hair.

Hiashi watches the show of open affection with a critical eye. As if somewhere between the smiles and the open embraces, his daughter is secretly unhappy. It is not uncommon that one finds harmony in arranged marriage with a spouse and one's adopted family. Yet, he was not expecting it so quickly.

Where had he heard that the Sand Siblings—as they were called—were the callous remains of some ancient clan?

"I want to thank you for looking after her." Hiashi begins, but finds that his well of words has dried up. He cannot shake the feeling in his chest that something is wrong and it makes him suspicious. His daughter's teammates descend in the usual fashion. Inuzuka's eyes are red even though he is smiling. Aburame offers Hinata a bouquet of flowers.

"Hey, where's my little brother anyway?" Kankuro calls through the increasingly noisy room. "You know the tradition little bro. If you don't show up, then the best man has to marry the bride!" Hiashi raises a brow at the lewd suggestion, but before he can voice some choice words the crowd parts around a tall man with red hair.

 _Such a strange color._ Hiashi thinks. Although he has seen portraits and glimpses of the young Kazekage from a distance, he has never had a moment to glean the exact color of his hair. The Kazekage is not exactly known for his public appearances and even if he was, Hiashi is not exactly sure he and Lord Gaara would run in similar circles.

But the _red_ startles him.

The other two Sand Siblings' had a normal range of tones, brown and dark blonde, Hiashi supposed the Kazekage would look the same. Even during his formal greeting, the Kazekage's hair had been covered _._

 _Will my grandchildren have such unattractive hair?_ He wonders and considers putting his foot down on the whole operation now before he sees the expression on the Kazekage's face.

He is standing beside—he cannot believe it—the Fourth Hokage's son and Sanin pupil, Naruto Uzumaki, and standing beside such a flamboyant and loud individual, it may be near impossible not to look sullen by comparison. But Lord Gaara somehow manages.

He is looking at his daughter and his eyes are full of awe.

"Gaara is a little shell-shocked." Naruto manages with a hearty laugh before turning to his friend, looking genuinely worried. He even gives him a shake. "Hey, um, Gaara. Say something. Tell Hinata-chan how pretty she is. C'mon man."

Hinata makes a soft noise, a kind of scoff, a sort of laugh and she peels herself from Temari's side to make her way towards the Kazekage.

All the raucous noises in the room dies down and Naruto unloops his arm to let Hinata have full command of the room. When she reaches him, Lord Gaara is still watching her, eyes still round with wonder. Hinata has to tilt her head up to look at him while standing so close and it makes the charms in her hair chime. She takes his hand in hers.

"Do you . . . do you like it?" she asks, voice soft and for a moment unsure as the stutter from her childhood creeps back into her voice, but Gaara nods. His eyes downcast a moment.

"You look beautiful, Kaze-hime."

And then he leans down and kisses her hand.

.

.

After the excitement dies down, it was time for pictures and that in itself takes another uncomfortable hour as the photographer makes them arrange themselves in various combinations. Hinata and Gaara, Hinata and Gaara with their teammates, Hinata and Gaara alone again, Hinata and Gaara with flowers, without flowers, with friends, with siblings, and when it comes to parents Hiashi finally steps forward and waits for a father or mother to step out of the throng of people.

"My apologizes, Kazekage-sama." The photographer bows, but the young leader does not seem offended. Then Hiashi remembers, the Kazekage and his siblings were orphans.

 _Who has been chaperoning them?_ As if to answer his unvoiced question, Kankuro and Temari look anywhere in the room but Hiashi to varying levels of nonchalance.

"I'll step in for this one." A man with half of his face veiled steps forward and Hinata and Gaara let out a breath of a name, "Baki," But neither protest, Gaara's smile remains.

They take two pictures and then the photographer calls. "Alright, now just teachers with the couple."

The man, Baki, stays and Kurenai hands off her toddler to the blonde Yamanaka before nearly skipping forward to have her picture taken with the couple. Hiashi watches from afar, guess that he will not be needed anymore. Gaara and Hinata sit together on the settee, knees touching and holding hands as their senseis stand behind them. Baki's hand on Gaara's left shoulder and Kurenai's hand on Hinata's right.

It's almost unconscious but Hinata reaches up with her free hand, touching Kurenai's as she loosely grips the girl's fingers. Hinata smiles wider as the camera flashes. The sleeve of her kimono slides down her forearm, exposing the long sun-flecked skin and a silver bangle with a single circular charm hanging from it.

"Alright, family again."

Hiashi steps forward and Hanabi again rushes to her sister's side, chin high as she snaps something at Kankuro that makes him call her "a little terror". Hinata laughs and puts an arm around her sister, holding her by her side. Neji cuts in to stand beside Hanabi, but still behind Hinata, looking annoyed at the squabble, but not as put off as Hiashi. "Kankuro really? You're going to let a genin get under your skin?"

This makes Temari laugh as Hanabi continues her taunt. "We're family now, Sabaku, you're stuck with me forever."

Hiashi steps behind Hanabi, waiting as the Sand Siblings orient themselves.

"Alright and big smiles!"

.

.

"She never fought me on this." Hiashi says conversationally as the music starts up. He knows it is a weird time—terrible time—to bring it up, but he cannot hold himself back.

As the bridal procession begins, Neji turns to him with one single brow raised.

"When I told her that she was to marry Lord Gaara, only two weeks ago, I married her mother in half that time, but now that it is happening I fear that I see the error of my ways." Hiashi watches a train of warrior women enter, singing as they carpet the aisle with soft lavender and flowers, the smell hangs thickly in the air. "Even when she left that day in her palanquin, she just smiled and took my hand before leaving."

Hiashi remembers his daughter's callous palm gripping his own, her smile small and secret. A hidden message behind that mouth. "I will see you in time for the wedding, Father." She bowed to him and the Hyuuga elders before leaving the compound, never to return again.

Then the doors open and an audible gasp cuts through the room.

Hinata looks up, taking in the room, the flowers, and the weight of celebration before her eyes fix on the man waiting down the aisle for her.

She is a good noble lady, about to make a good noble marriage, and Hiashi feels sick about it still.

"Forgive me, Oji-sama," Neji says tersely and Hiashi spares a glance at his nephew. Neji's gaze is pinned on Hinata as she walks down the aisle alone, crushing flower petals and incense as she walks. The ornaments in her hair chime with each step, like rhythmic bells to the music. Neji looks hopelessly annoyed. "But it almost seems as if you want Lady Hinata to be unhappy."

Hiashi balks at the statement, but he knows he cannot dole out the appropriate punishment for such an offense now, not at his own daughter's political wedding. And still he is not sure that he can punish Neji anymore than stern warning. Not anymore.

"Look at her. Look at how happy she is." Neji says, gaze never moving as Hinata seems to float to her fiancé, where they both kneel before the priest. "Gaara makes her happy."

.

.

After the ceremony is over and the newlyweds share sake and retreat to change into different clothes, Neji disappears. Hiashi is left standing in the ceremony hall, without his daughter or nephew and sets himself to wander. He catches a familiar face here and there, but he doesn't stop long enough to encourage conversation.

Then, just when he is about to give up and return to his room to change for the reception, Hanabi appears still wearing her ceremonial clothes worn during the wedding. "Father," She gives a short bow and then meets his gaze. "Nee-san and Kazekage-sama would like a private audience with you in the great hall."

He doesn't question it, or the odd timing and quickly heads over to the great hall. The doors would not officially open for festivities for at least another hour and when Hiashi enters, the hall is utter empty and tastefully decorated with steaming white flowers, a room large enough to sit two hundred or so closest friends.

In the far corner, he spots his daughter and the Kazekage at a table, still dressed in their ceremonial clothes, their chakra faintly masked. The couple shares a pensive look and stand to greet him before Hiashi walks over. The Kazekage rises to bow to him, but Hiashi waves off his attempt. He is no mood for pleasantries.

Still, his son-in-law bows him, something in his eyes seeming to dare Hiashi to wave him off again.

"Father," Hinata rises as well and moves to stand beside her husband. She looks sheepish and torn for a moment before she leans into the Kazekage to take his hand, intertwining their fingers. Hiashi's eyes narrow at this, but he doesn't have to wait long for an answer.

It is Gaara who speaks, voice soft and rough, almost as if from lack of use. "I must admit that Hinata and I have tricked you, but we realize that your ignorance to our union has led to anxiety and confusion for you."

Hiashi narrows his gaze. "How?"

"The arrangement of our marriage by the elders of my family and the Hyuuga elders was all a clever arrangement by Hinata and I." Gaara says and there is no heaviness in his reveal, no zeal, no relish, just flat fact.

Hiashi takes a moment to consider this and is still confused. Sabaku continues, "You see, I knew that if I asked for Hinata's hand outright that there would be a tedious amount of politics and betrothal period involved. Sabaku is an old name, although not nearly as old as Hyuuga, but our name originates from the first factions of the what makes up the Sand Village. Our name was synonymous with royalty for a time before Kages.

"I knew that I could use my name as a piece just as Hinata could use hers. Peace is steady between our villages now after the war, but the misunderstanding between our trade routes and a few dead civilians, did cause a brief uproar amongst the people."

Hiashi remembers that. He remembers the lift in taxes and the outcry from the common folk, and his own family. This misunderstanding had caused a crop of suspicion and slurs to be thrown at the Sand Village, and when it turned that the Leaf Village and one or two greedy merchants were at fault, the Sand Village had been silent for days before a platoon of letters seeking retribution and stronger foundations of trust came in.

"I put the idea in my elder's heads that to marry a Konoha kunoichi of noble blood might settle the dispute." Gaara murmurs. "By marrying nobility, I allow my sister and brother to marry whomever they chose."

"And I put the idea in Grandmother's head that I could form an alliance through marriage." Hinata says quietly. "Although you knew that, I let the maids in on a rumor that Gaara's family was seeking a bride for him and Grandmother learned that it was true. She has always been fond of the Sand Village and told me that she wished she knew someone who lived there to peruse the markets for her."

Hiashi stares, bafflement stealing his voice as his brain runs amok, trying to process this new information.

"We had to smooth out the details and it took a couple months of careful planning, but we managed to convince the elders that if the Sabaku heir and the Hyuuga heir were to marry that a union would be created between some of the oldest families in the Villages. I think, for a moment, Elder Jiro wanted Hinata to marry Kankuro."

"And Elder Yomo wanted Neji-nii to marry Temari." Hinata says, nose scrunching. "That's when we had to make it public that I would consent to an arranged marriage and Gaara was looking for a wife."

"But we managed to get them on the right track." Gaara nods as if it were that simple, not influencing elders of clans, those whose words were law. "The Hyuuga heiress has been visiting the Sand village for years and has always been polite and caring to the people. She has even worked in our hospitals and helped to modernize our methods."

"And the Kazekage has been marked in the records as saving Konoha and being a great ally during the war. He is also good friends with the Uzumaki family, and it's no secret that the village elders will name Naruto the Hokage someday. Peace between the villages is almost assured. However, I did have to let Neji-nii in on my plan. He knows me so well, he figured out what I was doing the day Grandmother announced that I would accept an arranged marriage."

Hiashi reflects back on months of Hinata and Neji whispering amongst themselves, leaving to train, but coming back fresh-faced and rehearsed in alibis. Suddenly, Neji's confusion of Hiashi's ignorance makes a lot more sense. Hanabi's sudden acceptance of Hinata's nuptials even more so.

 _Dowager Hama would not have made a better choice if they had not pointed it out themselves._ Neji's words from last night suddenly make sense.

"And you two. . ." Hiashi works his jaw. "Knew each other . . . before all of this?"

Hinata then looks surprised, the color in her cheeks rising to a near ruddy shade. "Father, did you think that I would marry a stranger?"

Gaara even looks confused. "Hinata has been visiting the Sand Village for years since the war. Even before then, we ran in the same circles."

"Father, I danced with Gaara at the first war anniversary celebration! I have been wearing a traditional Sabaku engagement bracelet for months now!" Hinata lifts her wrist and Hiashi's gaze falls on the silver bangle with the single charm again. "I have been so worried that you would find out. It wasn't until Neji-nii told me you were worried that you sold me off that I realized how much you didn't know."

A moment passes in silence and Hiashi realizes the increasingly distressed expression on his daughter's face, but when he opens his mouth, she shakes her head.

She had removed her jewelry before coming here, all but that engagement bracelet that chimes on her wrist with every movement.

"Father, I know you must be angry, but if you're going to be angry I ask that you are only angry with me. Neji-nii only did what I asked him as my comrade and as a member of my house. Gaara-kun only followed along to my plan." Hiashi's brows tick high. "I knew I would never be the Hyuuga heiress, but that never . . . that never mattered to me. Power has never mattered to me, but I used the Hyuuga name only once in my life, and that was to secure a future for myself with a husband that I love and, in a place, that I have come to think of as a second-home."

Hiashi's gaze falls to where Hinata is griping the Kazekage's hand, her white-knuckled grip revealing even more freckles.

He is agog, and aghast, and the noble part of him in not sure if he is proud—or horrified—or bamboozled, but he looks at his daughter and—

"Then I must accept your wishes, my daughter." Hiashi says quietly.

—Hiashi feels happy. Truly happy. For the first time in so long.

.

.

The reception goes by without a hitch. The Kazekage and his daughter arrive in different clothes, Gaara a formal suit and Hinata a billowing dress, pale as starlight. There are dances, games, and toasts that Hiashi partakes in. He dances with both of his daughters, but during the father-daughter dance with Hinata, he can feel his cheer being to peel. "Father? What's wrong?" Hinata asks.

"I wish your mother could have been here to see you. She would have figured out that you plotted your way through an arranged marriage quicker than I did." His daughter smiles and tears sting his eyes. "But, I would also like to talk to you about your husband."

"Yes?"

"His family . . ."

"Yes?"

"Is the red hair a dominant trait? Your Grandmother wants to know."

"His hair . . . ?" Hinata casts a glance to her new Sabaku in-laws, her husband, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and two dark haired elders leaning over walking canes. "I'm not—" And his daughter, his clever, careful, closed-off daughter, laughs in his face.

.

.

Two years later, Hiashi receives a letter from Hinata, the message arrives with a large carrier hawk and although Hiashi would usually wait for Hanabi and Neji's presence to open one of Hinata's letters, he is too anxious to allow it to go unread for another minute.

His mother says it's his own father speaking through him. "That man couldn't wait for anything." The old Dowager complains even though his father has been dead longer than Hiashi has been alive.

Besides, the reason for his anxiousness is rational. Nine months ago, his daughter wrote to him that he will soon have an answer to the question that he asked on her wedding day and since she has kept a strict report on her health, exercise, and the chakra signature of the child.

There are personal touches too, among the usual reports on Suna military and economics that she is always careful about reporting. She tells him about her life. How her work as a medic has improved, her own training, something funny that she heard leading up to her letter, or something thoughtful that the Kazekage did for her. She details a nursery for him, something Gaara had set up for their child and taken great pride in.

She opens up about her life in Suna and makes that dry, desert heat sound like the cushiest home. She tells him about Kankuro's jokes, but also his political prowess and tariff negotiation with the Mist Village. She exclaims over Temari's new status as a general and her new training regime for nearly one hundred shinobi.

Little by little, he is growing to learn more about his daughter through her letters than anything he could have gauged in person. She is incredibly selfless, almost to a fault, and vehemently protective of her new home and family. Hiashi learns from Neji's own reports that Hinata is well-liked throughout the village, spread patronage of her house and volunteers a great amount of time to helping the people. She is also, as Hanabi insists, a solider.

Months ago, a rouge-nin managed to get into the Sabaku mansion, hoping to attack Hinata while she was pregnant and vulnerable. Hinata wrote to him, austerely, that nothing was wrong and nothing had happened.

The Kazekage wrote to him that Hinata had shut down the man's respiratory system with a combination Gentle Fist and medical-nin attack, and revived him only for questioning. But his wife, six months pregnant and lethargic, was now on bed rest with him to guard her. His words are full of agony over failing to protect his wife and unborn child. _Suna,_ he wrote, _is not the place for frail shinobi._

Hiashi puzzles the meaning of this statement for weeks afterward. Stretching and analyzing the word choice from every possible angle. It occurs to him, after his nth review of the letter, that the Kazekage, Gaara no Sabaku, is openly commending his wife's strength.

Hiashi opens the message capsule and gently eases out the thick scrolls of paper and, to his surprise, a photograph. Its small in comparison to the wedding portraits that Hiashi knows are hanging up in Hinata and Gaara's wing of the Kazekage mansion, but the photograph is intimate, if not a bit crooked. Hinata and Gaara sit together under the arch of a bay window with the rolling dooms of Sunagakure in the distance, both dressed in traditional clothing for their first family portrait.

Hinata's cheeks are a flush of color and her smile extends even across her husband's face. The Kazekage has his arms around Hinata, looking not at the camera, but the newborn baby in Hinata's arms. Hiashi squints and thinks that Gaara's smile looks a bit . . . smug.

The door to his office opens and Hanabi stumbles in, still in her training gear. The Dowager startles from her nap and makes noise about Hanabi's manners, but Hiashi is too preoccupied to point out to her impropriety and not standing on ceremony because he is going to divorce his daughter from her husband if it's the last thing he does.

"Father, you promised you would wait for me to read Hinata-nee's letter! Is that a photograph?"

"What?" His mother gaps. "You got a letter from Hinata-chan? Why didn't you say something, Hiashi."

"I make a point not to speak about matters that don't interest you, Mother." Hiashi passes the photo off feeling tired as Hanabi's tense expression blossoms into an expression of utter fondness, her snow-white eyes going tender at the sight. "She has Gaara-sama's hair."

"Yes, I know." Hiashi drones as he takes out his blocks to begin writing his own response. Damn reading the corresponding letter. He'll do that once he's properly vented—wait. "Wait. She?" _I have a red-haired granddaughter?_

Hanabi nods and flips the photo so the back is facing him. There Hiashi can clearly read the words, inked in his son-in-law's sturdy hand.

 _Hinata no Sabaku_ _née Hyuuga, Gaara no Sabaku & Michiko no Sabaku._

 _I hope her name makes up for her hair_

And Hiashi smiles.

* * *

and ta-da! my first fic in so long, my first _Naruto_ fic in even longer. Did I do okay?

Lettme know below!

I have this idea that Hiashi knows so much about the village that he has no idea what's happening in his daughter's life. Ino, obvi, goes to work with Ibiki in Interrogation, Sakura is Tsunade's apprentice, and Tenten is the ANBU chick with weapons in her hair. I usually ship her with either Kankuro or Lee. ALSO, i know that Hinata is supposed to resemble her mother-but i didn't want to do that. And I know that, supposedly, she was living at home and being disinherited was just not being the heiress anymore, but I figure why not pile on the SHAME and EMBaRassment and make her stronger from it.

So, this is part one, technically, three of my Beautiful Trauma (hyuuga) Trilogy. Part two is my take on the changed background. Part three is Hinata and Gaara's love story.

 **-cafeanna**


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